North Carolina State University was founded by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1887 as a land-grant college under the name North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. As a land-grant college, NC State would provide a "liberal and practical education" while focusing on military tactics, agriculture and the mechanical arts without excluding classical studies. Since its founding, the university has maintained these objectives while building on them. After opening its doors in 1889, NC State saw its enrollment fluctuate and its mandate expand. Due to the Great Depression, the North Carolina government administratively combined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Woman's College at Greensboro, and NC State. This conglomeration later became the University of North Carolina system in 1971. After World War II, the university has constantly grown and changed. Founding: 1862–1889 Although established in 1887, the North Carolina State University story begins in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the federal Morrill Land-Grant Act. This act created endowments that were to be used in the establishment of colleges that would provide a "liberal and practical education" while focusing on military tactics, agriculture and the mechanical arts without excluding classical studies. During Reconstruction, North Carolina allocated its endowment to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For two decades, that university received $7,500 annually from the endowment. In the mid-1880s, both state farmers and business leaders claimed that Chapel Hill's "elitist" education did not meet the mandate set forth by the Morrill Land-Grant Act. On March 7, 1887, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized the establishment of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. The state also budgeted money for the new college and transferred North Carolina's land-grant endowment to it as well. R. Stanhope Pullen gave land towards the establishment of the new college in Raleigh. The cornerstone of the main building (now called Holladay Hall)was laid in 1888 by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. The college formally opened on October 3, 1889. 71 students enrolled the first year. Early years: 1889–1945 Between 1889 and the end of World War I, the college experienced growth and expansion of purpose. Along with United States Department of Agriculture, State College created the Boys' and Girls' Clubs in 1909 (which later became 4-H in 1926). In 1914 the federal Smith-Lever Act enabled the university to establish state, county, and local extension programs. These